Archery bow sight



Feb. 23, 1960 J. GENOVESE 2,925,656

ARCHERY BOW .SIGHT Filed Aug. 30. 1955 Flya F/ '9.4

IN VEN TOR. thsqob G'ezzovese I BY ATTORNEY 3 Ciaizns. i. 33--46) Thisinvention relates to a sight for an archers bow and more particularly,to such sights which are adapted to be mounted on a bow to improve theaccuracy of the archer at different ranges.

It has become generally accepted in modern day archery that archeryshooting is divided into five partsstance, nock, draw, hold, and loose.The stance is the adjustment of the feet and the bow. Nocking deals withplacing the arrow at the right point on the bow string. The draw isdrawing the string and the arrow into position ready for the release orloose. The hold is holding the arrow and bow in. drawn position whilechecking over the other elements of archery shooting.

It is generally accepted that each of the above parts or elements,except the stance, should be the same for each shot in order to obtainconsistent accuracy. For each individual archer, the arrow is necked atthe same point on the bow string for each shot. The string and arrow isdrawn to the exact so-called anchor point which is the spot on thefaceor head of the archer which the string presses when the arrow is in fulldraw. The arrow is always drawn full-and no more-for each shot. Forperfect shooting, the loosing is the same for each shot. The only changefor different ranges is the inclination of the bow.

When the arrow leaves the bow it does not fiy flat but 'inscribes a longparabola to the earths surface. Given a how, an arrow and a target,there is only one place from which the shooter, using proper form, canshoot directly or point blank at the target and hit it; If the shooteris further back from the target and he aims dead at the center the arrowwill drop short. If closer, the arrow will sail high. Thus, theinclination or elevation of the bow has to be varied for differentdistances from the target. This is the only change made for shots ofdifferent range. Either the archer relies upon instinct for determiningthe correct inclination or elevation of the bow or he uses a point ofaim or a sight.

In using a point of aim, the archer'determines'the distance from thetarget at which he can aim point blank at the target and hit it. Thispoint is frequently referred to as the real mark. The archer in movingaway from the target beyond the real mark, establishes points of aimlocated behind the target. In establishing other points of aim fordistances closer to'the target, -he picks' points located in front ofthe target.

In effect, present day bow sights put the point of slot directly on, thebow. The sight permits the archer to align a cross piece fixed on thehow with the target, thus obtaining the correct inclination or elevationof the bow.

Sights are comparatively new. Some are quite complicated being equippedwith intei'changeable prisms. Others are extremely simple. in any event,the present day how sights have not been proven too satisfactory becauseit requires a mechanical adjustment of the sight for different ranges.

The object of this invention is to provide a bow sight sight.

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which does not require anyadjustment once set for the individual archer.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simple bow sight fromwhich the archer can determine the tra jectory of an arrow shot from thebow.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a bow sight whichis very simple and from which the archer can read directly the straightline distance of the tra= jectory of the arrow.

Other objects of this invention will become obviousto one skilled in theart of archery upon reading the speci= fication in conjunction with theaccompanied drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 shows an oblique view of the bow sight mounted on a bow.

Fig. 2 discloses a side elevational view of the bow sight taken alongthe plane II-II of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 discloses a front elevational view of the bow sight. I

Fig. 4 shows a cross sectional, front elcvational view of the bow sighttaken along the plane IVIV of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 shows a side elevational view of a modified form of how sight.

Fig. 6 shows an exploded view of the clamp for clamp ing the bow sighton a bow.

Fig. 7 shows a cross sectional view taken along the plane VHVII of Fig.6.

Briefly, this invention is concerned with a bow sight for an archerybow. This how sight is adapted to be supported on a bow. It includes adial and a pointermember. movable with respect to each other in responseto the inclination or elevation of the bow on which they are mounted.'Indicia means are provided on the dial. for indicating the relativepositions of such dial and pointer and thus the trajectory of the arrowshot from the bow. In the preferred form of this invention the indiciaare marked or expressed in terms of the straight line target distance ofthe trajectory. 7

Referring to the drawing,reference numeral 10 .indi cates a standard orconventional form of archery how 10 having a gripping portion 1 1. Thesighting vunit 20 is shown secured to the how by the clamps 4d.

Figs. 2, 3, and 4 show a more detailed drawing of the It includes thesupport member or bracket 21 to which is adjustably secured thecylindrical housing or dial 22. The dial or housing 22 is closed at bothsides, the outer side 23 having an opening 24 for purposes de: scribedhereinafter. P V p The weight 25 to which is fixedly secured the pointer26 is rotatably mounted on the bracket 21 and within the housing or dial22. This is accomplished by the bolt 27 having a slotted head 28 and athreaded end 29 between which there is located an enlarged shank 3d. Theweight 25 and pointer 26 are freely rotatable about the shank 30. I Awasher 31 is located on shank 39 between the inner side of thehous'ingor dial 22 and the hub for the weight 25 and pointer 26. As a result ofthis arrangement, the weight 25 and pointer 26 are always freely'i'otatable on the shank 3t). Tightening or loosening'of the bolt 27does not effect such rotatable motion. A nut 32 is screwed onto thethreaded end 29 of the bolt. 27. Tightening of the nut 32 onthe boltcreates a bearing the sight is pressure between the bracket 21 and thedial 22. Thus,

when it is tightened, the dial or housing 22 is rigidly. secured to thebracket 21.

The dial or housing 22 is fabricated from a transparent material-such asplastic... The pointer 26 has a transversally bent end 34' (Figs. 3' and4) which is visible through the dial 22. The dial 22 on a portionof itscircumference has indicia means for indicating the relative position ofthe pointer as in respect to the dial 2.2; in

Either the dial or pointer member are freely.

Also it can be mounted at difierent the broadest aspect of thisinvention, these indicia means can be expressed in any unit which willgive an indication of the trajectory which an arrow shot from the bowwill travel.

In one form, the indicia can be expressed in degrees of'the angle ofinclination or projection of the bow. In this case, when the bow is heldin a vertical position the pointer 26 will be positioned opposite theshowing zero degrees. On the other hand, when the'bow is tiltedupwardly, the pointer will be located opposite aplus degree of angleinclination. When tilted downwardly the pointer will be located oppositea negative degree of angle inclination.

in the preferred form of this invention, the indicia on the dial 22 areexpressed in terms of the distance to the target. Since the arrow alwaysfollows a parabolic trajectory, the distance preferably marked on the'dialfii is the straight line distance from the shooter to the point onthe trajectory that crosses the target. Figs. l and 3 show such indicia33. in order to obtain f-the greatest range possible, the indicia 33begin at approximately 66 from the vertical and extends to 120 from thevertical. The indicia are determined in accordance with the trajectoryof the bow when held at different angles of inclination. Since thetrajectory of the arrow for. each person shooting a particular bow mayvary, the indicin 33 expressed in the straight line distance of-suclrtrajectory may also vary for each individual.

The sighting unit 29 is clamped onto a how by the clamp 4 The clamp 49includes 'a' clamp head'41, rectangular in shapeand having a ll-shapedelongated slot '42 in each side. The slots 42 cornmunicatewith thegroove 43 extending longitudinally along the bottom end of the clamphead 41. The slots i2 and groove-43 "define a passage for the T headbolts {id having the T- shaped heads 45 extending into the'groove i3 andtransversally through the slots 4-2. Thus, the bolts are longitudinallyslidable in the clamp head 41. The blots '44 have threaded ends 46on'which thewing nuts 47 are adapted to be screwed. A slotted bearingplate 48 is also provided through which the threaded ends 46' of thebolts 44 extend.

'The sight 2t) is mounted on the bow IWby placing'the bracket 21 on theside of the bow. When held in that position the clamps 49 are installed.The insideface 49 of the clamp head 41 is broughttobearagainstjthebracket 21 and the threaded ends of the bolt extended beyond theopposite side of the bow. Plate 48is': then installed over the bolt ends46 and the wing nuts 47 screwed on the bolts. The spacing of the bolts44 are adjusted to correspond with the thickness of the bowltl. Afterthis adjustment the wing nuts 47 arettightened. Tightening of the wingnuts causes the bolts 44 to be drawn together against the frontandbackside of the bow'10 thus holding the sight 20 securely'fixed tothehow 10. The clamps 40 are installed'on the ends of the bracket 21 oneach side of the sight 20.

"'It'should be understood that there can be substituted other meansfor'securing the sight '20 to the bow without departing from the scopeof this invention. For exampleyscrews can be used for securing thebrackets to the bow. Twine or any other type of thread could also beused. Its advantage is that it does not mar or defect the bow in: anyway andthesight can be removed easily. Another advantage of the clamp 40is that it is adapted for useon various-size bowshaving differentthicknesses. placeson thebow to suit the individual.-

Operation The operation of the sighting unit described herein is very.simple. After. it has-beeninstalled-on :the' bow the dialer housing. isadjusted for each individual. This is eccomplished byloosening bolt 27byascrewdriver inserted through opening 24 'in the side 23 of;.the'dial.The shooter first establishes the real mark, that is, the

distance from the target which if the shooter aims=directly or pointblank at the hull of the target, he will hit the target. Havingestablished this distance, the bow is held in point blank aimed positionand the dial 22 adjusted until the established distance marked on thedial is located opposite the end of the pointer '26. The dial 22 is thenrigidly secured in that position by tightening the bolt 27 with a screwdriver inserted through the opening 24. Having set the dial '22, theindicia 33 marked on the dial will give the straight line distance ofthe arrow projectory for different inclinations of the bow.

For example, assume that the shooters real mark is 30 yards from thetarget. In adjusting the dial the shooter would loosen the bolt 27 by ascrewdriver inserted through opening 24. Holding the bow in point blankaimed position, the 30 foot mark on dial 22 would be placed opposite theend 34 of the pointer (Fig. 3). Then the bolt 27 is tightened by ascrewdriver inserted through the hole 24. Having set the sight, theshooter in moving away from the target, say 50 yards, would then inclinedownwardly to a position where the end 34 of the pointer 26 is oppositethe mark on dial 22 equal to the distance which he is from the target.Shooting of the arrow in theproper manner would then cause the arrow totake a trajectory which would intersect the target.

-Modification A modification of this invention is as shown in Fig. 5.This modification provides for more accuracy than the form shown in Fig.2. In this modification, the unit 50 base support 51 similar tothesupport of Fig. 2. The housing or dial 52 is oval shaped in order tomount two rotatable elements including the weight 53, and the pointer54. The weight 53 is rigidly secured to a gear 55 which is freelyrotatable about the bolt 56 in any manner similar to that previouslydescribed. The pointer 54 is rigidly secured to a gear 57 which isfreely rotatable about the bolt 58 in any manner previously described.The gear 55 drives the gear 58. The gear ratio is 2 to 1- so that theangular movement of pointer-E lis twice that of'the weight 53. The dialSZ in this case is fixedly mounted on the bracket 51 by screws 59. Withthis modification, the indicia 60 of the dial 52 have graduations twicethat of the indicia 33 of the dial-22. As a result, a more accuratereading can be obtained by the sight 50 than thesight 20.-

The mounting of 'the'sight 50 on the how 10 is identical to thatpreviously described with respect to the sight 20. The adjustment of theunit is slightly different. Since the dial 52 is oval shape and fixedlysecured to the bracket 51 by the screws 59, the adjustment of the deviceis accomplished by loosening either the bolt 56 or .-58,-:disengagingthe teeth of the gears, and then rearranging the gears so that thepointer 54 isopposite the appropriate marked distance."

For example, as applied to the illustration previously described,.tl1ebolt 58, is removed and the gear.57 disengaged from the gear 55. Then,with the bowzin a point blank aimed position, gear 57 is replacedso thatthe end of the pointer 54 lies opposite the distantv markon the indiciaequal to the distance between the realmar and the target.

Having .set the sight, the bow is shot at different distances byinclining or tilting it to a position-where the can be directly readfrom the bow sight and no adjustment is necessary after the firstoriginal adjustment for each archer shooting the bow has been made. Itshould be understood that in some cases it may be desirable to expressthe indicia in terms of the angle of inclination or the projection ofthe bow. It is possible that some other type of indicia may be desirableIn the broadest aspect of this invention such modifications do notdepart from the scope of the invention.

It should be understood that in describing this invention certainembodiments have been shown for purposes of illustration only. Severalother and different embodiments can be made without departing from thespirit of this invention. All of these embodiments should be consideredto be included within the scope of this invention except as expresslystated in the appended drawings.

I claim:

1. A combination archers bow and sight for determining the trajectory ofan arrow shot from said bow member bent between its ends and having abow string attached to and extending between said ends; said how memberand bow string lying substantially on a plane; a grip on said bow memberlocated intermediate its ends; a support member mounted on said bowmember; a gravity actuated sight supported on said support memberadjacent said grip; said sight including a dial and a pointer means; oneof said dial and pointer means being pivotally mounted on said supportmember for rotation about an axis substantially normal to the plane ofthe is stationary; said dial having a face extending lengthwise of saidhow member with indicia means thereon facing said string; said pointermeans having a pointer adjacent said dial face and visible with relationto the indicia means whereby one shooting an arrow in said bow canreadily determine the trajectory of the arrow.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the indicia means are expressedin distance, and said pointer is aligned with the shooters real markdistance when the shooter is aiming point blank at a target.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the pivotally mounted one of saiddial and pointer means is adjustable; means for fixing the one of saiddial and pointer means in different adjusted positions; the indiciameans of said dial being expressed in distance, and in one of saidadjusted positions the pointer is aligned with a shooters real markdistance when the shooter is aiming point blank at a target.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 37,076Long Dec. 2, 1862 857,991 Gibson June 25, 1907 1,170,466 Switzer Feb. 1,1916 1,220,407 Folgesong Mar. 27, 1917 1,919,106 Hamemick July 18, 19332,045,631 Cavender June 30, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS 6,508 Great Britain1890 548,297 France -q----,---.--- Oct. 17, 19 1

